Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, formerly Jefferson County or Jeffco Airport, is a busy general aviation and corporate airport in Broomfield, Colorado, roughly midway between Denver and Boulder. With three runways, a control tower, an ILS approach and a strong mix of flight training, corporate jet traffic and aerial firefighting operations, it is a popular and instructive destination for visiting VFR pilots operating close to Denver's Class B airspace.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) is a public-use, tower-controlled general aviation airport owned and operated by Jefferson County, situated on U.S. Highway 36 between Denver and Boulder. It is the closest airport to downtown Denver and hosts a large based fleet alongside corporate jet operators, flight schools and a regional aerial firefighting base, making it a lively and varied field for a simulator pilot to fly into.
The airport lies in Broomfield, Colorado, about 16 miles northwest of downtown Denver's central business district, close to the Interlocken business district. It sits near Denver's Class B airspace, and due to mountainous terrain to the west combined with that Class B airspace, traffic around the field is funnelled onto a broadly north-south orientation when transiting the Denver metro area. The field has an operating control tower.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport has three paved runways. The main runway, 12L/30R, is 8,982-8,983 ft long, hard-surfaced, lit, and equipped with an ILS on runway 30R. A parallel secondary runway, 12R/30L, is 6,985 ft long, hard-surfaced and lit. A shorter crosswind runway, 03/21, is 3,590 ft long, hard-surfaced and lit. The field elevation is 5,617 ft.
The control tower operates on 118.6 MHz for local/tower and 121.7 MHz for ground, and is open from 0600 to 2200 local time; 118.6 MHz also serves as the CTAF. ATIS broadcasts on 126.25 MHz. Denver Approach/Departure works the field on 126.1 MHz. An ILS is available on runway 30R.
Because of the mountainous terrain to the west and the proximity of Denver's Class B airspace, aircraft operating around the airport are generally channelled along a north-south track when transiting the wider Denver metropolitan area, which pilots should bear in mind when planning arrivals and departures relative to the tower's published hours.
The airport lies alongside U.S. Highway 36, roughly midway between Denver and Boulder, with the Interlocken business district close by to help with orientation on approach.
The airport opened in 1960 and was long known as Jefferson County Airport, or Jeffco Airport, before being renamed Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport on 10 October 2006; it has also appeared in county planning documents as Rocky Mountain Regional Airport. Its three runways, previously numbered 11L/29R, 11R/29L and 2/20, were renumbered in November 2014 to reflect a change in magnetic variation, with the primary runway undergoing an $8.83 million renovation at the same time. A new $23.7 million air traffic control tower, 124 feet tall, was dedicated by the FAA on 7 February 2012. The United States Forest Service has operated the Jeffco Airtanker Base at the field since September 1983, supporting major Front Range wildfire responses including the 2002 Hayman Fire, the 2010 Four Mile Canyon fire and the 2012 High Park fire; the base was briefly relocated during runway repaving in 2014. On 1 July 1997 a North American F-86 Sabre crashed while performing at an air show at the field, killing the pilot, with no spectators hurt.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport remains a major general aviation reliever for the Denver area, handling a mix of single- and multi-engine piston aircraft, business jets, helicopters and a glider among its based fleet, with a significant proportion of corporate traffic. Two fixed-base operators, Signature Flight Support and Sheltair, provide fuel and other services. Pilatus Aircraft operates a completion centre for its PC-24 business jet from a hangar on the airfield, and ATP Flight School runs a training centre there. The airport continues to host the Jeffco Airtanker Base for regional aerial firefighting operations during wildfire season.
